Brands
The Belgian Waffle Co drills down on National Waffle Day
MUMBAI: The Belgian Waffle Co turned up the heat this National Waffle Day with a record-breaking 7 lakh footfalls across 660+ outlets in 220 cities on 16 July, flipping a midweek lull into a full-blown dessert riot.
Led by the cheeky and energetic #WhatsYourDrill campaign, the brand teased fans with a faux cancellation of National Waffle Day—only to unveil a surprise date shift to the third Wednesday of July. Cue chaos, curiosity, and meme mayhem.
The buzz peaked as “Waffle Lieutenants” (read: die-hard fans) received retro-style mission letters and classified 3D-glasses-included invites, decoding the secret celebration date. Influencer-led content exploded on Instagram, led by viral creator ShettyBrother whose “waffle drill” clip clocked 6 million organic views.
With waffles priced at Rs100 for the day, the brand saw queues snaking out of stores, powered by a slick tech solution allowing pre-orders to manage the sugar rush. OOH ads across 77+ locations in metros and Tier-2 cities added to the visibility blitz, while store-level games like “Waffle Mania” kept fans entertained.
Even employees got in on the action, posting “Cadet Profiles” and their own waffle rituals on LinkedIn, proving that behind every great drill, there’s an even crunchier team.
“National Waffle Day is always a landmark moment for The Belgian Waffle Co. This year, as we celebrate 10 incredible years of the brand, it held even greater significance for us. The massive response across our 660+ stores country-wide reflected not just the growing love for our waffles, but also the enthusiasm with which our customers embraced the idea of celebrating rituals and indulgence in a way that felt uniquely personal. It’s a celebration of our loyal community, our partners, and the culture we’ve built together. This massive success year-after-year is humbling and encourages us to remain committed to product quality, consistency and customer delight,” said The Belgian Waffle Co Executive Director and CEO, Ankit Patel.
“This year, we repositioned the National Waffle Day to the third Wednesday of July, shifting away from a fixed day which our consumers were quite aware about. The overwhelming response to that shift is a testament to the strong emotional connect the brand shares with our community. With the #WhatsYourDrill campaign, we wanted to give our community a platform to express themselves in fun, meaningful ways, to build a movement around rituals and shared joy. From user-generated content to on-ground engagement, the enthusiasm we witnessed reaffirmed our belief in creating experiences that go beyond the product and connect emotionally with our audience,” shared marketing head Vrushali Parab.
Crunch met creativity, and National Waffle Day 2025 signed off with syrupy smiles and a sugar high that hit just right.
Brands
FSS names Anand Krishnamurthi head of global digital delivery
Tech veteran to drive AI-first, cloud-led transformation in payments globally
CHENNAI: Financial Software and Systems (FSS), an AI-first payment infrastructure company, has appointed Anand Krishnamurthi as head of global digital delivery.
In his new role, Anand Krishnamurthi will lead FSS’s global digital delivery capabilities, focusing on AI-first and cloud-led transformation while ensuring predictable, high-quality outcomes for customers worldwide. He will be based in Chennai and report to V. Balasubramanian, CEO of FSS.
Bringing 28 years of experience in technology and digital transformation across banking, capital markets, financial services, and insurance, Anand has held senior leadership positions at Cognizant and NuSummit. He is recognised for scaling multi-geography delivery teams, leading mission-critical platforms, and embedding AI-driven automation in complex, regulated environments.
“What drew me to FSS is its deep payments expertise, strong product DNA, and the scale at which its platforms power real-world financial ecosystems,” said Anand Krishnamurthi. “I aim to strengthen delivery predictability, execution rigor, and engineering quality, building empowered teams that deliver measurable customer outcomes. FSS has a unique opportunity to create real-time, AI-infused payments infrastructure that is resilient, secure, and globally scalable.”
V. Balasubramanian added, “Anand’s track record in leading multi-geography delivery programs and AI-first operating models makes him the ideal leader for FSS as we accelerate our AI-driven digital payments business. His leadership will help us raise the bar for outcomes globally.”
This appointment is part of FSS’s broader push to build an AI-powered, cloud-native delivery organisation capable of meeting the evolving needs of banks, fintechs, and financial institutions worldwide.
